While planning this trip I would have never thought of coming to such a beautiful place: Bordeaux, France. It is filled with culture, college kids, amazing food (though most of France is), and very nice people or at least the ones I was with ;). I went on this adventure with two other girls on our trip Charlee and Ally and we were on our way to meet and stay with Charlee’s friend Loïck, very French name I know! On our way to Bordeaux was one of the more... difficult parts. We had to catch a train from St. Pancras in London to Paris then transfer to a different station to get on another train to Bordeaux. First, while going through security in London, being dark and tall or something, I had a full search of my things and self, I don’ t know why haha. But once we were on our way it was fine. The chunnel goes so fast it didn’t seem like 2 hours even. Then while traveling to the next station, Monparsse (I don’t know if that’s spelled correctly though) the train we wanted to get on, we missed because we had to activate our eurail passes and the guy at the booth said all the trains were full up until the 7:00 pm! And we had told Loïck we would be on the 2:50, well that didn’t happen. We waited till the 3:50 and even though it ‘was full’ we went to the conductor of the train and asked if we could get on anyways. He let us on no problem, only had a pay I think… Euros? And the best part of all, he was so nice to us we got to go to first class. Talk about good luck! Once we got to Bordeaux there was a little wait time trying to figure out how to find Loïck since we had to phone to contact anyone with but using the internet at a café and the very helpful Skype we found him and made it back to his small but adorable studio apartment in the middle of the city! He even made us crepes right when we got there! And I can assure you I will be making many of these when I get home because he taught me and I’m pretty good at it!
Our first official day in Bordeaux was a little lazier one because we were very tired and had stayed up to watch some of the super bowl the night before. Loïck didn’t mind and just wanted to show us some pretty areas in Bordeaux anyway. So after a great breakfast of crepes and Nutella we went around looking at shops, monuments, and other things Bordeaux was known for such as the sea of mirrors. It was a bunch of small fountains with a small amount of water; only a couples inches that reflects the buildings and other things around the area. It was very cold water but we had to go in it anyway, it’s not every day you’re in Bordeaux walking around in a pool in winter ;). That night we met up with some of Loïck’s friends Sara and Charlotte at a wine bar! I don’t remember the name of the place but it was adorable! It had velvet walls, a random assortment of chairs, and even trees and other plants in the building just hanging over you. It had a lovely atmosphere and we spent about 3 hours there only having a glass of wine, some small cakes and chocolate and just talking to each other. In France, that is the thing to do when you are out to eat. It is a very social thing not to just come, eat, and leave. You are there to enjoy your food and drink and talk about thing with the people you are with, which I have noticed I have changed a little in my eating habits and have been taking more time to eat than I normally would have. One of the biggest differences that I have noticed in most of Europe is the coffee sizes because coffee is usually offered after every meal as part of the custom. You usually get just a shot or two of espresso and some sugar to add and milk if you want. But it is a cute, tiny cup that people could take an even a half hour to enjoy – just because they can! It’s awesome!
Our second day in Bordeaux we had plans to go to Archecon and to the beach because it was in the upper 60’s and free to get there so why not! And I’m so so so glad we did because I had a great time walking along the beach and in the sand. Just thinking that if I was home I’d be inside in a blanket and here I was walking in sand and in the sun all day. The water was a little cold to be walking in but I had to try. Other than enjoying some pizza and coffee at a restaurant we were on our way home and very tired once again. It was this night I actually got to talk to some family members and friends back at home.
One of the best days of being in Europe so far was on Wednesday, the day before we had to leave. We had plans for lunch at Sara’s house, who lives with her grandma, then dinner reservations at an authentic French restaurant. (Once I find where I put the business card I will give the name of the place because it was incredible food!) But first, lunch at Sara’s! We did not know what to expect besides that her grandma didn’t speak English, at all. But once we got there we saw what a great lady she was even if we didn’t know what each other was saying! Frist we had some raw salmon with lemon, and different spreads on small pieces of bread – caviar, a pâté that was quite salty but good, and another one with crab on it. Along with this of course there was a very good dessert wine which I should’ve got the name of but didn’t want to take a picture of during lunch lol. After this we had a dish with another type of fish in it, another course that was a sort of a small lasagna crab cake, then some cheese and bread, then crepes were brought out for dessert with ice cream, and coffee after. I was SO full I thought I wasn’t going to be able to fit anything else in my stomach that night! It was one of the best meals I have ever had and he was so sweet about it and later that night we were told she had a great time so I’m so glad we were invited! It is truly a gift to meet some of the people I have like Sara and her grandma. That night was still around the corner and although I had eaten so much earlier by 11:00 when we were eating I was ready for more anyway! I wasn’t going to get that chance again anyway. This small but adorable restaurant is hidden in some alley somewhere and you need reservations because it is sought after and not that large. Sara had been there before and got a big table for us 6 to have a wonderful night! The owner is also the waiter and part of the culinary work. I didn’t see who else was in the back but his wife. For my appetizer I had an amazing salad, and I know ‘it’s just a salad Katie’ but no, this cook/owner/waiter is amazing and I have never had a better salad. It had some sort of balsamic mixed vinaigrette with greens and beef or port hash (my mouth is watering right now it was so good!) For my main course I had some of the best filet minion ever with more salad and in a cranberry/date sauce with some cheesy potatoes on the side. I wasn’t sure if I could eat it all but I did and it was amazing lol. But wait there’s more! After that was a beautifully arranged type of cheese with caramel. I didn’t get any but almost everyone else couldn’t eat there so I was able to try it and loved it anyway! You’d think that is a strange mix but it was really good! And for the best part – dessert!! I was debating between getting crème brule and some other amazing dessert . I went with the second one and was soo glad I did. Since I was dumb and didn’t bring my camera that night to take picture of everything this is just a picture off Google but damn it is good!! I didn’t get the coffee because my stomach felt like it was about to burst but I didn’t care because I had eaten some of the best food in my life and had a great time with new friends! We walked back around one in the morning and slept very well to say the least. We left with a few tears the next morning on our way to Paris and our next stop on the adventure around Europe!
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